Jiu’er’s head was pressed against Lu Beicheng’s chest.

To keep her from being scraped by the jagged rocks, his broad palm even stayed pressed against the back of her head the whole time.

In the pitch-black crevice of the rock, Zhen Jiu’er couldn’t see anything, but she knew that her face was now pressed right against his chest.

Lu Beicheng’s strong, powerful heartbeat came through, thump after thump, breaking into her eardrums.

It almost felt as if it would shatter her eardrums.

The most terrifying part was that she could hear her own heartbeat just as clearly.

Thump-thump, thump-thump, so loud and so obvious that she was even afraid the assassins slowly creeping into the cave would hear it.

Her heart was pounding much too loudly!

She didn’t know if it was because her heart was beating too fast, but the surrounding temperature seemed to be slowly rising.

Hot…

“There seems to be another exit over there!” one of the assassins suddenly said in a low voice.

The others immediately gripped their tranquilizer guns tighter and slowly walked closer.

Closer and closer…

Hiss, hiss… some sound stirred slowly near their feet.

A small, dark shadow slithered past as well.

A snake!

Jiu’er was so startled she nearly pulled her feet back.

Lu Beicheng was faster than her—he scooped her up in one motion.

The snake slithered past not far from them. Zhen Jiu’er, now fully lifted off the ground, was safe.

But Lu Beicheng’s two legs were still on the ground!

What if it was venomous? What if it noticed someone was there? What if it bit down…

Jiu’er shuddered involuntarily, uneasy.

But Lu Beicheng’s face remained expressionless, and he didn’t move an inch.

The snake, at least a meter long, slid past them and slowly made its way toward the assassins.

“Snake!”

“It’s venomous! Run!”

“Quick!”

A series of muffled pops rang out—someone had fired several tranquilizer darts at the snake.

Whether they hit it or not, no one knew. The assassins panicked and hurried out of the cave.

After that, they went to search elsewhere.

Dawn would break soon, and once it did, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly.

At last, even the sound of footsteps faded away, and only then did Zhen Jiu’er gently tug at Lu Beicheng’s clothes, signaling for him to put her down.

She hadn’t expected Lu Beicheng not to let go.

“Master Nine…”

“Wait a little longer.”

That wait ended up lasting more than an hour.

Dawn broke.

The moment the sunlight streamed in, Lu Beicheng finally lowered his head to glance at Zhen Jiu’er—only to find that this girl had actually fallen asleep.

In an environment like this.

Looking at her sleeping face, a rare trace of warmth flickered across Lu Beicheng’s heart.

In the end, he carried her out of the cave slowly.

When they returned to the manor, his wheelchair was still there, but by then two anxious people had gathered beside it.

One was Ji Mingyu, the other was Yan Qiu.

“Ni—”

Before Ji Mingyu could finish calling out “Ninth,” Lu Beicheng cut him off with a look.

Ji Mingyu understood at once.

Zhen Jiu’er was still asleep, and Master Nine didn’t want to wake her.

A tenderness like this had never once appeared in Master Nine before.

Neither Ji Mingyu nor Yan Qiu had ever seen anything like it.

Master Nine’s feelings toward Zhen Jiu’er… after last night, seemed to have shifted into something even more different.

…Jiu’er drifted in and out of consciousness, unsure how long she had slept.

When she finally woke, she was startled to find herself back in the tent.

“Master Nine!”

She sat bolt upright.

She was about to get up from the floor bedding when she suddenly noticed something tied around her wrist.